Welcome to one of my national team previews! I’m a particularly demented type of fan due to my obsession for the international game. Whatever team you’re about to read about, I have watched hours of them. All of my opinions come strictly from their own competitive games; I pay little mind to friendlies and zero mind to what their players do at club level.
I'm entering this preview pissed at this team & there's no use trying to pretend. One of my favorite managers Herve Renard has just been sacked by them in what feels like yet another instance of a soon-to-be World Cup host nation thinking they're fucking Real Madrid. Anyways we can start.
So yeah Saudi Arabia, that place that's been sportswashing like no other this decade. All of that money can bring talent to the domestic league & one big Men's World Cup win in 2022, but they will feel disappointed were they to get grouped again. They want the knockouts, badly.
Possession lovers in the 2022 World Cup cycle, Saudi Arabia have dialed it back in recent years in efforts to get some better results. It hasn't really worked, but I expect them to stick to those pragmatic guns especially bringing a brand new manager into the helm just for this tournament. Simple.
I must admit, I actually do like a lot of their talent. Their inability to get results is from that attacking end; defensively, Al Tambakti-Thakri emerged in October as a VERY solid centerback partnership. The holding midfield pivot in front of them looks pretty damn good, too, defensively.
Even without Herve, I have a ton of trust in this partnership on the back line, if they stick by it.
(I had 2 YouTube clips here but the videos might have been deleted. Trust me on it, though. Or don’t! I’m not a cop!)
Al-Khaibari is an anchor focused on maintaining team shape while Nasser-Al Dawsari is just running everywhere to be a problem for opponents.
This "core 4" emerged in their October playoff & I hope the new coach doesn't break it up because it does keep their floor high if you ask me.
Some might highlight Saud Abdulhamid as a key player just because he plays in Europe, but he really isn't. He's a fine piece out there as an outside back, in the pattern of overlapping. But he doesn't bring as much into their attack as a lot of people are going to think, not yet at least.
Most know by now the quality Salem Al-Dawsari brings as an inverted winger. Center forward Al-Buraikan goes underrated simply as a guy that can chaos havoc by jostling for the ball, a role they could really use since they are rarely stringing together goalscoring patterns. You'll also see a pattern of Al-Buraikan drifting to the left side to drag a centerback out of space & give a channel for Salem to do his attacks into.
Right winger Al-Shamat is nothing to write home about, though. He'll take some stupid shots from long range if he's around. Update: he's not going!
October also brought the emergence of Musab Al-Juwayr who is a real hooper in that midfield, fun on the ball & able to create something good.
Although the scorelines don't look like it, they dominated those playoffs... at Home. Massive disclaimer needed, still.
My Worry
Their record speaks a lot louder than the players I'm praising, who did well in those favorable Home conditions. 2019-2022 marked men's NT growth in an Asian Cup knockout & World Cup qualification. They've stagnated since; debatably regressed needing a playoff to be here.
Mr. Brightside’s take
So much for boasting about Herve Renard here. The bright side has to be the idea that the playoffs, despite being so advantageous to them, did show some real promise from the team. This MNT should be better from their domestic league on a basis of talent.
And again, I will keep insisting that the players I've been boasting about are very good actually:
(The third and final Youtube video also will not apply. Check out the Bluesky Thread to get the links which will still probably have to open in Youtube. Apologies.)
My Final Take
Let's give them a chalk 3rd place as they should still handle Cape Verde. Coin flip, or I guess more like an 8 check on a d20 roll on if they make the knockouts. I don't see them making noise there, but it would still mark another step forward in terms of MWC results.
Yeah I am just so sour about the Herve thing. With him, I am not kidding, I had them on 6 points in this group upsetting one of the big ones.
May he stay in international soccer forever & find a new team for me to become a fan of before 2027. Hate watching Saudi Arabia this summer for this.
Thanks for reading!
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